Monthly Archive for April, 2012

Page 5 of 5

Below is a running diary of L.A.’s Sunday evening home contest against Golden State, the Lakers looking to win their second straight home game of the weekend, with some comments drawn from our @LakersReporter Twitter account, and a few more details in case you missed any of the action:

FIRST QUARTER11:34 After failing to score until the fourth quarter last night, Kobe went the other way in this one, hitting back to back jumpers that preceded a Sessions bucket at the rim in L.A.’s 6-0 start. Bryant, playing the third most minute in the league, has been a bit short on his J’s at various points in the past few weeks, so seeing good lift on his first two was a good sign.

5:44 The offense was clicking OK mostly behind Bryant (seven points) and Sessions (five), but the D wasn’t exactly at its most intense. The Bynum/Gasol combo was a bit sluggish in the paint, allowing consecutive layups at the rim, which is always a no-no. As such, we had a 14-all score early.

2:44 The energy did improve when … well … energetic subs Barnes, McRoberts & Blake checked in. Consecutive buckets followed, with Bryant making his fifth field goal and Blake getting two free throws around a Barnes swat of David Lee at the other end (20-19 LAL).

SECOND QUARTER12:00 The bad news for L.A. from the first quarter: Bynum sprained his ankle with about 30 seconds left in the first quarter, walking to the locker room under his own power to get x-rays. His team would take a 33-31 lead moments later on Troy Murphy – who didn’t play last night against New Orleans – jump shot.

3:00 With Bynum still in the locker room, L.A. got contributions from elsewhere, Barnes sinking a three and Sessions and Bryant (24 total points) following with consecutive buckets at the rim to push the home team’s lead to 51-42. LAL were as small as we’ve seen them all season, with neither Bynum or Gasol (getting a breather) in the contest, but McRoberts and Murphy were picking up the slack.

0:00 An explosive drive that was also aesthetically pleasing from Sessions, end-to-end, allowed L.A. a 57-54 lead at the half, snapping an 8-0 run that had nearly erased a nine-point Lakers lead moments earlier. Kobe was effective with 17 points on 8 of 15 field goals, while Sessions finished with 11. Both had three assists.

THIRD QUARTER7:55 After shooting better than 50 percent only three times in 17 March games, Kobe continued his efficient start to April, hitting three field goals early in the third to get him to 24 points on 11 of 19 shots. L.A., as such, took a 71-62 lead.

2:28 Solid all-around play from L.A. continued, the lead holding at 83-72 thanks in part to Murphy (11 boards) and McRoberts (six) helping hold the paint down. Sessions continued to get to the rim and draw fouls, hitting 7 of 9 free throws for 18 points, and Gasol reached 16 points with two buckets on one possession, thanks to his own missed and-1 foul shot.

0:00 Perhaps inspired by a similar effort from McRoberts, Matt Barnes rose high to erase a Brandon Rush dunk attempt, moments after McBobs swatted Rush at the rim only to be called for a foul both he and a smiling Rush knew wasn’t there. Such effort helped the Lakers push their lead to 89-76 at the break, with triples from Bryant (29 points) and Murphy (eight) helping the cause.Continue reading ‘LAL 120, GSW 112: April 1 Running Diary’

With 1:48 left in the first quarter of L.A.’s Sunday evening contest against Golden State, Andrew Bynum sprained his left ankle while landing on the foot of a teammate going for a rebound, and missed the rest of the game.

X-rays came back negative, however, allowing the Lakers to classify the injury as “moderate.” Bynum will be re-evaluated on Monday, with the team’s next game coming on Tuesday evening against New Jersey.

Bynum missed both shots he attempted in the first quarter, finishing the game scoreless with three rebounds.

**UPDATE**: We caught up with Bynum on his way out of the arena, and he said that while sore, his ankle was “fine,” and that he would “definitely” play on Tuesday. Officially, we will have to see how he feels on Monday and at shootaround prior to the Nets matchup, but his positive feeling is certainly good news for the Lakers.